In the case of Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company v. Bower, 1915, the U.S Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a state could impose taxes on interstate commerce companies for property located and business conducted within its borders. The Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company argued that Nebraska's tax assessment violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution by burdening interstate commerce. However, after reviewing previous cases such as Maine v. Grand Trunk Railway Co., where it was held that states have power to tax property within their jurisdiction even if used in interstate commerce, the court ruled against this argument. The court upheld Nebraska's right to levy taxes on railroad properties situated within its territory regardless of whether they were involved in intrastate or interstate trade activities. It stated that while Congress has exclusive authority over regulating interstate commerce under Article I Section 8 Clause 3 (the Commerce Clause), this does not exempt entities engaged in such from local taxation so long as it is done fairly without discrimination towards out-of-state interests or undue interference with federal regulation.

In the dissenting opinion for Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company v. Bower, it was argued that the majority's decision to hold a railway company liable for damages caused by sparks from its locomotive was unjustified. The dissent contended that there were no clear regulations or standards in place at the time of the incident which explicitly stated that railways had a duty to prevent such occurrences. Furthermore, they pointed out that this type of accident could occur even when all reasonable precautions are taken, making it unreasonable to impose liability on railway companies under these circumstances. They also disagreed with the majority's interpretation of negligence law and believed their ruling expanded its scope too broadly.